Vintage Pledge 2015 Skirt- 1940s Advance 2469

I didn't even technically make a vintage pledge for 2015, since I was already huge and pregnant in January and I had somewhat low expectations for how much sewing I would get done. That eventually was lowered down to nearly zero.

Kerry of Kestrel Makes did ask me early in the year to do one of the pattern stash interviews and being an experienced mom, she let me put it off until the fall. I delusionally expected to get it done during my maternity leave. Ha. I was featured in December. I now can see I have some serious pattern hoarding (and finding) contenders in the Chicago area like Tasha, Michelle, and Liz. They have some awesome patterns.

Anyways, this was my first sewing project for post-baby Molly for 2015. Let me take you way back in my time machine to around September. I was back at work and I though about making a skirt. I had a huge piece of plaid flannel-feeling fabric from the year before that I bought at Jo-Ann- I think they are called Plaiditudes.

I wanted to use Advance 2469, view 1 with the cool pockets. Right after school started, I had not lost the last ten baby pounds so I knew I needed to increase the waist from the 24 of the pattern to the 28 of my current size. This pattern is from the 40s and is completely unmarked; it just has the holes of various sizes for marking and you figure it out.

From the Vintage Pattern Wiki

Okay, so just to recap, after having a baby and not sewing anything for myself nearly a year, I decided that my first project back should include:

1. Grading a pattern, which I rarely do
2. Matching plaid, which I suck at
3. Using an unmarked pattern from the 40s

Great, can you see where this is heading? lol

Let's start with grading the pattern. You know, I added a half-inch to the outside of each piece and it does correspond accordingly. It's just that at work, I am always on my feet as the co-teacher walking around the room and helping students. So after going back to work, those ten pounds melted away and I am back at my original weight (though jiggly). So the skirt doesn't fit and I can't take it in because of the....

Front

 Attempt at matching plaid! This plaid has a somewhat weird repeat and I had a really hard time trying to match it while cutting on the bias. I did a fairly good job cutting it out, but the fabric is thick and I still don't have a walking foot. So in places the layer fed unevenly and the plaid is slightly off. I am not sure why I thought bias cut skirt + plaid = magic in the first place... so if I took it in along the side seams, the plaid matching would be off by even more and would be super visible.

Plaid close-up

 The pockets are the cool feature of this pattern and they are really unique. They are only sewn on in one row of stitching under the flap. So the pocket bag and the flap are both floating.

Floating pockets

 With a baby and a full-time job, finishing this took a few weeks. The thought of then hemming it by hand was just too much. I rustled through my notions and found some vintage, black, iron-on hem tape and I went to town! It worked as advertised and it gave the hem a little more volume, a little like horsehair braid dialed down a bit.

Vintage, iron-on hem tape

 The back lined up fairly well in regards to the plaid. For some reason, like forgetting how to sew after such a long break, I thought it would be smart to use an invisible zipper. I don't have an IZ foot, so I just used a regular foot. This led to the infamous bottom-of-the-zipper-poof where it looks like "maybe that lady has a tail? under her skirt?"

back

 Probably should have reinforced the waistband with something too...

I can't blame the pattern really. Using an unmarked pattern just expected a little too much of my skills/memory after such a long break from sewing anything slightly complicated for myself. I think the last thing I made for myself was the same maternity pattern three times before Christmas of last year...

Anyways, I will just donate it I guess. Commiserate with me, maybe? Oh well, you live, you learn as the great Alanis Morisette once said. lol

To part, here is a picture of Max at City Park in New Orleans just after Xmas. He's sitting in a oak tree being adorable!

10 months!

40/70s Split blouse

My pattern was a 1940s blouse pattern from some estate sale or another. I made the view in the center, with long sleeves and the pointy collar. This is Simplicity 4762, from the 40s it seems to me. I can't find any examples online of anyone else making it up. 

I used what was left of the crazy 70s fabric that I used for my Lonsdale maxi dress. One goal for 2013 will be making a real effort to use up all the fabric in my three drawers of the built in cabinet. I have a lot of fabric in there!

So, here is my blouse:

It is very "bold" with the crazy print. I guess I'll wear it to substitute and see if the high schoolers have any cutting remarks, since they are arbiters of fashion. I genuinely have noticed that when I wear a dress/cuter/ or more trendy outfit there are always a few students that are snottier than usual. It's weird. When I wear my black pants/ generic blouse uniform, fewer kids give me attitude. Not that this is at all scientific since I see different students every day...

Back looks like any other blouse. The waist is fitted but without pinching me like a sausage.

Derrrrrr de durr durr!

I went with the orange plastic buttons. The are so domes that I had to make giant 1" buttonholes so that they would fit. To be honest, the top buttonhole is crooked. Oops.

Overall:
1.5 yards of stash fabric
6 stash vintage buttons
1 stash pattern

I would estimate this blouse cost less than 2 dollars to make, since all of those things came from estate sales and I used a fraction of a spool of thread.

I'm hoping to sew one item a week, ending the year with about 50 new things. This counts as one, and obviously that wedding dress needs to done soon! Oh, such a procrastinator...

McCalls 6539- 1940s pajamas

This is my pattern, from 1946. I made the short sleeve shirt, with a collar and the long pants. 

 As, I mentioned in the last post, there were no instructions inside and no pants pattern. I looked at the line drawing and guesstimated.

 They are kind of gigantic, but this is lounge wear. In fact, I am lounging in them right now. They are very comfy and it decided to rain all day, so it's fairly cool out.

 What you say 27 is too old for pigtails? Yeah, probably- but with amount of zits my evil skin has been festering, I don't look 27.

 Do you see the pocket? I lined it up perfectly with the print! Also, the pink buttons were on sale. Aren't the bears cute?

 The pants were a guessing game of randomness. I should have made a curved waistband! I always do that! So it has random darts in the waist and six darts on the front and on the back. They are rather voluminous, I feel link a skater punk.

 The back is simple.

 Here is my magical side closure. The envelope did not call for a zipper, but there were no instructions to clarify anything. They overlap kind of like the fly on boxers and then just button at the waist.

Time: Perhaps 3 hours

Fabric: Flannel with tiny bears

Notions: 5 buttons and more white thread

Cost: about $20

I'm happy with them! We also took the wiener dog to the dog beach and got him to swim. LOLZ! So hilarious! He would only swim from the sandbar towards the shore and he did not look happy. I'll have to make a video at some point!